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New Zealand four-piece The Beths channel their longtime friendship into high-energy guitar pop with a smart lyrical bite. Guitarist, lead vocalist, and primary songwriter Elizabeth Stokes and guitarist Jonathan Pearce attended high school together before meeting up with longtime mates bassist Benjamin Sinclair and drummer Ivan Luketina-Johnston at the University of Auckland, where all four studied jazz. After gigging together in a variety of configurations, the quartet came together for a project exploring the pop and rock sounds of their youth. Everything clicked, and The Beths were born.

Their debut EP, 2016's Warm Blood, overflows with explosive guitar riffs and infectious indie-rock hooks. Produced by Pearce and featuring all four members on joyful vocal harmonies that recall the best ‘60s pop, tracks like ace lead single “Whatever” and impossibly catchy standout “Idea/Intent” earned the all-killer, no-filler release rave reviews from the New Zealand music press.

2018 was a breakout year for The Beths, beginning with a signing to Carpark Records. A beloved live act across Australia and New Zealand, the band toured the U.S. and Europe, where singles from the forthcoming album Future Me Hates Me got audiences beyond the bottom of the Pacific Ocean hooked on their ebullient sounds. The title track ‘Future Me Hates Me’ has been received enthusiastically, earning radioplay worldwide, and second single ‘Happy Unhappy’ was named ‘Song of the Summer’ by Rolling Stone Magazine. Their freshman album, Future Me Hates Me, also produced by Pearce, arrives on August 10th; fans of artists like Sleater-Kinney and Best Coast should remain on high alert for the first full-length from their new favorite band

Bad Bad Hats is an indie rock band from Minneapolis, Minnesota. The band consists of Kerry Alexander, Chris Hoge, and Connor Davison. Named for a trouble-making character from the Madeline children's books, Bad Bad Hats is defined by a balance of sweet and sour. Their music honors classic pop songwriting, with nods to nineties rock simplicity and pop-punk frivolity. Through it all, Alexander's unflinchingly sincere lyrics cut to the emotional heart of things.

Alexander and Hoge met while attending Macalester College in Saint Paul, Minnesota. In 2012, they formed Bad Bad Hats with friend and bassist Noah Boswell, and began performing around the Twin Cities. That same year, they were signed by Minneapolis label Afternoon Records. Their 2015 debut album Psychic Reader caught the attention of outlets including The New Yorker, NPR, Pitchfork, and Paste. Since the release of Psychic Reader, Bad Bad Hats has toured the U.S. extensively, supporting artists including Margaret Glaspy, Hippo Campus, and Third Eye Blind.

Lightning Round, the band's second full-length album, finds Bad Bad Hats more confident and mature than ever. Producer and collaborator Brett Bullion (who also produced Psychic Reader) encouraged the group to record live in the studio, an approach which pushed the band outside of their comfort zone and lends many songs on the record a loose, organic feel. There is a vulnerability in this (fluttering tape loops, a few wrong notes) and it makes the music on the new album feel as honest and unpredictable as Alexander's lyrics. In this spontaneous environment, Hoge, who is known to play every instrument in the band, delivers some of his most inspired musical performances yet.

As for Alexander, she's still writing love songs, ones that recount with cinematic swell the subtle joy and pain of the everyday. Her vocals are supported by open, breathing arrangements that feature lush keyboard sounds and woody guitar tones. Davison was recruited to play drums on the album and became a full-time member in the process. His drumming and melodic contributions give the new songs a level of nuance not heard in previous releases.

Lightning Round marks the final release with contributions from original member Noah Boswell, who will be leaving the group this fall to pursue a master's degree. Bad Bad Hats continues with Alexander, Hoge, and Davison. They have plans to tour the country this year.

Rust belt longings and polyamorous harmonies are laced through clanging guitars and soaring keyboard countermelodies, all underscored by a hard-hitting, relentless rhythm section. Inspired by bizarre nap dreams, life changes and the overwhelming pull to connect to the universe and every being in it, The Village Bicycle ponders the big questions while still enjoying life’s little mysteries. They thoroughly love sharing themselves through their music, and their evervescent energy onstage makes for an awesome, upbeat live experience.

"This Cleveland outfit softens its mathy melodies and shoegaze fuzz with retro sci-fi synth, trippy psychedelic production, and vocals that shift from delicate and feminine to tough, brazen and even funny. Backed by a quirky, Abba-meets-the-Andrews-Sisters chorus, it creates music that’s fun, refreshing and thought-provoking." -The Charlotte Observer, North Carolina